The present invention relates generally to an article of jewelry or the like, which may be in the form of a pendant adapted to be suspended from a neck chain or the like, although not limited to such use, since the instant invention could also be in the form of a brooch adapted to be pinned to one's apparel for wearing.
More specifically, the present invention relates to jewelry having a multiple significance, such as zodiac jewelry, birthstone jewelry, or the like. The problem with such jewelry, both from a manufacturing and retail standpoint, is an inventory problem; since where such jewelry is limited to a single representation, such as one zodiac sign, one birthstone or month, it will be obvious that such jewelry would have to be manufactured and inventoried in multiples of twelve, thus creating a serious problem.
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a single article of manufacture which contains multiple representations, the article being so constructed that any desired representation may readily and easily be moved to what may be considered as the viewing position on the device. In order to emphasize and accentuate the viewing position, indicating means are provided as a part of the device for focusing one's attention to the particular representation that has been moved to the viewing position.
Thus, in accordance with the present invention, a single article is provided which inherently has the capability of being adjustable for multiple representations, whereby instead of having to make and inventory a multiple number of articles, such as twelve articles where zodiac signs are involved, for example, only a single article need now be manufactured.
In order to accomplish this objective, a circular disc is rotatably mounted on a circular back plate, the mounting being such that the disc is free to rotate; but at the same time a frictional drag resists said rotation. The disc is divided into a plurality of equal peripheral sections, each of which is provided with a different form of ornamentation, such as with the different zodiac signs or the like. Fixed indicating means are provided on the article, said indicating means overlying the peripheral edge of the rotating disc and being substantially equal in width to the width of one of the sections in said disc. The disc may then be manually rotated until the desired section is in alignment with the indicating means, and then the article is worn with the selected section in the top or twelve-o'clock position.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent when considered in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawings.